Baraladei Daniel Igali was born and raised in the deep interiors of the Niger Delta, in the village of Eniwari, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. His personal quest to excel in wrestling truly began in 1990 when he was 16. In Eniwari, an impoverished community without organized sporting programs, wrestling was and still is a part of the culture. In the same way that hockey is innate to Canadians, so too is wrestling to the Ijaws.
The country (Nigeria) did not offer competitions at different age categories, but with a family of twenty brothers and sisters, Daniel did not have a shortage of wrestling partners. Realizing that he had talent, Daniel competed in the 1990 Senior National Wrestling Tournament and won. But it was but 10 years later that he would return to his hometown as a national hero. In 1993 and 1994, Daniel became the African Champion after winning the 62kg weight class in Pretoria, South Africa, and Cairo, Egypt, respectively. But his career didn't truly take off until he arrived in Canada for the 1994 Commonwealth Games. He finished 11th overall, but the disappointing finish was the last thing on his mind. The political situation in Nigeria was extremely volatile, and it was clear that pursuing both an education and career in sports was next to impossible. He made the difficult decision to remain in Canada.
Tom Murphy was instrumental in helping him adjust to his new life in a strange land. He was later introduced to Dave McKay at Douglas College, and subsequently to Mike Jones at Simon Fraser University, both of whom were mentors and friends. With Mike and Dave's guidance, Daniel's record of 116-0 over three years in collegiate competition was a formidable achievement that is yet to be rivaled at the NAIA. In 1996, in the final match of the Clansman International Tournament, Daniel was beating American Terry Steiner 7-4. With less than ten seconds remaining, he gave up three points, and lost the match in overtime. It was a turning point in Daniel's career as he vowed never to be embarrassed like that again. With the help of his coaches, he immediately changed his training regimen, and went on to place 4th at the 1998 World Championships in Tehran, Iran. In 1999, he placed second at the World Cup, though many believed he deserved to win, and in September 1999, became Canada's first men's world wrestling champion when he won six straight bouts to claim the gold medal in the men's 69 kilograms division at the world freestyle wrestling championships in Ankara, Turkey.
At the Sydney 2000 Olympics, he reached the pinnacle of sports success when he was crowned Olympic Champion (becoming the first Canadian to win a wrestling Olympic gold medal). He dedicated the victory to Maureen Matheny, his "adopted mother" in Burnaby, BC, who had shown him how to embrace life and had promised to be with him in Sydney. Maureen passed away after a valiant battle with cancer shortly after the 1999 World Championships.
Daniel's hobbies include: Kabaddi, an East Indian sport, which he describes as "rugby without the ball"; soccer, playing computer games, international politics and reading (mystery) novels. Daniel is the President of the Igali Foundation Inc., a Not-For-Profit foundation that caters to the needs of underprivileged children all over the world. Daniel spends a considerable amount of time on the "Keep Sweating Tour", where he speaks to school kids, different groups and corporations about the benefits of healthy living, making right choices, and of being good neighbors to each other.
He has twice been honored as Canada's Outstanding Male Amateur Athlete of the Year. Daniel is currently pursuing a master's degree in criminology at Simon Fraser University and is a popular and sought after motivational speaker. He recently fulfilled another goal - breaking ground on a new school and community centre in his hometown of Eniwari. After undergoing a spinal fusion in 2003, Daniel defied odds by going, once again, to the Athens 2004 Olympics placing a respectable 6th position. Daniel looks forward to the future with excitement. There may or may not be another Olympics in Daniel's future, but he has consistently maintained that he wants to wrestle competitively for a few more years.
